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Jarrett's Tech Blog - For August 2009

The following guide will assist you in posting your favorite
photos online for you friends and family to enjoy. It will also
show you how to geotag those photos as to see where the photo was
taken on the map.

Step 1: Import Photos from Camera

You should already have Windows Live Photo Gallery installed on
your machine. If not, you can download it from
Microsoft.

Tip: when
downloading, uncheck the MSN Toolbar and anything else you don't
need from the install.

Once the photo gallery application is installed, plug your
camera into your computer to transfer your photos. You should see
the following window pop up.

Select Import Pictures and Videos using Windows Live
Photo Gallery.

The next screen will allows you to name and tag the photos you
are importing. It is important to add this information to your
photos so you organize and find them later. If you've taken photos
over series of days on different subjects, you'll want to choose
the first option. Otherwise, the second option is best when all
the photos on your camera are similar.

Since my subjects are different, choose the first
option.

For each group of photos, type a name and some
tags. The name is similar to an album name and this is
where all the photos will be stored on your computer. The tags
help describe what is in the photo. Example tags: Dog; Cat; Pet;
Nature; Landscape; Vacation; Flower; Food

Click import to load the photos onto your
computer.

Step 2: Fix and Rate Photos

Now you should see photos inside Windows Live Photo Gallery. Go
through your photos and Fix them by cropping or
adjusting the exposure and colors. Each time you look at a photo,
you should add any additional tags or even a caption to the photo.
Now you can rate your photos. Here is how I rate my photos.

Next, select all the photos you want to upload
to a single album. You can choose your best
photos by filtering them with the stars.

Once you've selected the photos you want to upload,
click Publish and choose Publish on Picasa
Web Albums.

Login with your Google account.

Now you can choose an existing album or create a new
album. Type in a name and optional description. Also, I
recommend that you limit the max photo size to
1600 or lower to speed up the uploads (and keep people
from stealing full resolution copies of your photos).

Click OK to start uploading.

Once your photos are uploaded, you can view them
online.

Step 4: Set Location of Photos

Choose a photo from your new album. Click the
Add Location link on the right side of the
photo.

Type in the location of where you took the photo. Zoom in on
the map and click the exact location to mark where you took
the photo. It is very helpful to switch to satellite
mode. Usually, in satellite mode, you can zoom in for an extremely
accurate geotag.

Now you can add the location to the rest of your photos in the
album.

Tip: It is best to do
this photo-by-photo in succession since the locations are usually
near each other on the map.

Once you've marked all the locations of your photos, you can see
where they were taken on the album map.

Congratulations, now you can email the link to your new
online photo album and wow your family and friends.